title: Pre-B cells; normal and abnormal development.
abstract: The immediate precursors of B lymphocytes have been recently identified in fetal liver and in bone marrow. Immunoglobulin genes, first of the heavy-chain gene family and later from one of the light-chain gene families, are selected and undergo functional rearrangements on one of each chromosomal pair during this stage of differentiation. Thus clonal diversity is generated among cycling pre-B cells that lack the surface antibody expression which characterizes their B-cell progeny. While the number of discriminating markers for pre-B cells is still limited, examination of bone marrow pre-B cells containing cytoplasmic mu chains but lacking surface immunoglobulin has already revealed an informative spectrum of early differentiation defects in antibody deficiency diseases and malignancies of B lineage.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000950:Antigens, Ly / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology; D001717:Birds; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics; D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains / Q000235:genetics; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D007700:Kinetics; D007942:Leukemia, Experimental / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D007945:Leukemia, Lymphoid / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D011247:Pregnancy; D011817:Rabbits; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000950:Antigens, Ly; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains; D011947:Receptors, Antigen, B-Cell